strangetrip | [GP / EP] Welcome to the Madonna Inn Expanded Public Library

Entry tags:

[GP / EP] Welcome to the Madonna Inn Expanded Public Library

Freedom from her bonds had given Illyana more than freedom of movement. It had returned to her the use of her magik and her ability to teleport. These abilities had, in turn, allowed her to finish making ready the library for public use. It was less about collecting books and media from around the premises (and some from Limbo, or donated collections harvested from the Otherworlds) and arranging shelving and seating, most of which had been relatively easily done. It was more a matter of laying the appropriate wards, and negotiating the finer points of the old-fashioned catalog and check-out system, which included odd donated items such as sporting equipment and electronic devices available for rental. Xavin's espresso machine counter necessitated a mini-bar refrigerator, glass-domed cake stands for assorted pastries brought in from the kitchen, and various cafe sundries.

Repurposed from what had been the 'Garden Room,' the library space with its high wooden ceilings, chandeliers, and landscape murals over busy floral carpet still looked somewhat like a touristy banquet hall, yet the area was now also highly saturated with layered magic. The hodgepodge collection of random books and so on were fiercely protected by these magics. When needed and as possible, worn volumes had been restored. The books could not be damaged nor marred from here on out, at least not by coffee spills nor page-tearing or inconsiderate attempts at margin notation. Nor would they leave the boundaries of the library area without proper dispensation, simply stopping mid-air and dropping should the attempt be made at the threshold. Ask at the Desk for Assistance With These Items, prompted the signs on several glass display cases featuring certain perhaps unsettling curiosities within - books in arcane languages, skulls from indeterminate creatures, and artifacts such as a green glowing cube suspended on a chain. At said desk, a gleaming service bell sat waiting, should the staff be needed and not clearly present.

Illyana finished affixing the large engraved plaque to the wall beside the double-doors, and then returned to attend the newly opened library with little fanfare:

Madonna Inn Expanded Public Library

Established ~01.25.2018 Earthly Gregorian Calendar

Open All Hours

Volunteer Staff on Duty as Schedules Allow

Classes & Tutoring for Most Subjects Available Upon Request

Donations Encouraged

Disruptive Patrons Will Be Zealously Evicted

Threaded | Flat

It was a crude jumble of materials, but Illyana could at least take pride in assuring that their learning resources were now collected, cataloged and protected to the best of their present ability. It was not unlike her extensive library in Limbo in that regard, and fitting that she had selected a number of those volumes to transplant here. (The demonic primer grimoires were less likely to be useful than fundamental textbooks to the majority of the residents, but you never knew.) If they were damned to be imprisoned here, they would at least have the opportunity to improve themselves, to sharpen their minds and skills into such edged weapons as would cleave their oppressors into many pieces should the inter-planar chains ever slide loose from around them to reveal all.

So it was that Illyana looked nearly, unusually pleased as she shelved the last few tomes that Sam had provided her. Yes, if one looked at just the right moment as she stalked through the stacks, she could actually be seen to smile. At least until she turned and narrowed her eyes at the person having caught her out at it.

She'd been curious, which wasn't an unusual occurrence for her. When hadn't Abby been curious? When she'd heard about the Garden Room being repurposed for a library, she couldn't resist checking it out. She'd spent an inordinate amount of time among the books, but when she went to check out the electronic devices she let out a little squee. Then immediately slapped her hand over her mouth with a whispered sorry to the patrons that she might have disturbed.

Her eyes danced with glee as she checked out the old school gameboy and sat in an empty chair near the cafe/food area, she began to play The Legend of Zelda - Link's Awakening. It had been a really long time since she'd played the game and it brought back happy memories.

Perhaps the theory was correct that the reason people were at the Inn was because they needed a break. Time to reflect. As his fingers trailed over the spines of a few books, he thought of his mother and her love of knowledge. The thought brought a pang of sorrow but he pushed it aside. He was determined to honor his mother by learning more of humankind as she would have wished.

He noticed the sign that spoke of tutoring. He had hundreds of years to learn but he needed to start somewhere. He rang the small bell to learn what subjects were available.

The word of a library opening pulled Percy's attention from his sketching at breakfast and upstairs to the Garden Room. He read the sign and nodded in approval. A good library should be more than merely a repository for books.

He stepped inside, his notebook tucked into a pocket and gravitated immediately toward the locked cases for a closer look.

Emma had always liked libraries. After the kitchen when Sister Thérèse was on cooking duty, surrounded by books to read had been her favorite hiding place at school. And later, wherever she and Sabine traveled, a stop at the best libraries was usually a given. The library at Kinross Castle had been a disorganized maze, with books of every conceivable topic, and it hadn't taken long for Pyro to know to check there as one of the places he was likely to find her, even though he'd never really understood her love for books.

The newly opened library at the inn was none of those places, but it was a library. Emma had spent a little while wandering, perusing the shelves, noting things she might want to check out before she left. For now, though, she was enjoying the quiet atmosphere. She got a coffee and found a comfortable seat, then pulled one of the tarot decks from her bag, shuffled, and laid the cards out in front of her, focusing somewhere beyond the surface of the images to what else they could show her.

It was the sound of activity more than anything else that drew Moana upstairs. She paused and puzzled at the sign on the door with the squiggles. Writing, she knew it was called, but what it meant, she had no idea.

She wandered inside, bare feet quiet against the floor, taking in each of the interesting sights. The skulls were fascinating. She couldn't imagine what the creatures they'd once belonged to looked like.

The books she glanced at, but left where they were, with a forlorn look.

It was possible that this was a form of heaven. A lovely space, filled with books and interesting things, and for a decided bonus, none of them were treatises or debates on the bathroom habits of any Southern Divine. Or any Divine at all, really. He'd already checked on the status of his time cube (inert as ever, with protections to ensure that even if it didn't remain so, it would be useless to nearly everyone. (Nearly everyone excepted himself and the lovely and intimidating Illyana, of course.) with that duty out of the way, he considered himself free to peruse the offerings.

For the most part, this mean that taking a random volume off the shelves, reading two pages, and putting it back.

It was only a little cafe area in a much larger space, but Xavin regarded his new domain with satisfaction. The espresso machine was clean and functional, all the supplies he needed were well-organized and close to hand under the counter or in the refrigerator. There were pastries prettily arranged in the glass pastry habitats. And, to top it off, he'd managed to find one of those cloth front-covers with pockets for pens and things - apron, that was the word! - in his favorite shade of purple.

And, since Illyana was certain the books were safe, he could settle with a book (allegedly a mystery, entitled And Then There Were None) while waiting for someone to decide that the cafe beckoned to them, as well.

Maya had found a book of legends – maybe myth, maybe history, who was she to say? – of a place called Songrun that looked interesting. On her way to the desk to check it out, her attention was drawn by a glowing green cube in one of the glass cases. It was not, a single look quickly assured her, the Cosmic Cube. It was the wrong size and color for that. But so soon after the troubles caused by the Cube, that she still felt was responsible for the rupture in time that had brought her here, much as it had brought Captain America and the rest of the Invaders to twenty-first century New York, curiosity about this cube was understandable.

She saw the sign directing people to the desk for assistance. Maybe she'd ask there when she checked out her book. She wasn't planning on handling the cube or trying to open the case. She pulled a tiny Madonna Inn pink notebook from the pocket of her also tiny and not exactly winter-appropriate jean shorts, and began to draw the cube on its chain, highly detailed with every glimmer and reflection of light. She finished the first drawing and took two steps to the side to start again from a different angle.

Inured to Yana's bark and well-able to defend herself in the event of the very unlikely bite, Kitty set herself up at a table near Xavin's coffee counter.

She put several sheets and pens opposite her, for anyone who simply wanted to sign up for instruction, or instructing. The sheets had three columns. One for their name. One for what they would like to learn or teach. And the third for any information they wanted to provide about their previous instruction or knowledge level.

In front of her, she had her own notes, and an obscure architecture treatise on doors and archways. It wouldn't have anything to do with the magical or energetic portals, but Kitty often found analogies useful in thinking about problems and she was still obsessed with the problem of entrances and exits to this place.

When anyone approached, she tried to remember to look up and offer a smile, but sometimes she was too engrossed in her own work.

Edited 2018-01-27 20:49 (UTC)

Snow had made herself even more scarce than usual in the past month. She spent time with Regina, because she didn't want to worry her mama, and with Kash, because she had to check on Socks, and Vex, because Trinket and nursing her new little fox friend, but she avoided coming to meals at times many people would be around.

But a library? That was hard to resist.

She kept to herself, touching each spine of each book as she explored. Someone who had been paying attention would notice she was thinner, losing weight she didn't really have to lose in the first place.

Right now, though, she was almost at peace. The wound was healing, whether she wanted it to or not.

A library. If this had been a thing a year ago, Butters thought, he would have been hermiting in here instead of in his room. He walked wide of the very obviously magical things in the display cases--Bob would have had a field day, and possibly ended up part of the collection--and beelined straight for the fiction section. Oh yeah. Not enough time yet for the library smell to really establish itself, but this was nice.

Threaded | Flat

Illyana Rasputin - OTA